Inside the Sacristy

A plain silver chalice with ornamental knop

Charles Shipley, Assistant Verger of Grace Cathedral, leads me through a series of locked doors before we find ourselves standing in what looks, to me, like a very clean kitchen. We are in the cathedral sacristy, the room where all the chalices, pitchers, and linen—otherwise known as “plate,” are stored. Charles disappears behind another pair of locked doors, and returns with a simple silver chalice that radiates in the darkness of the room. He points out the rounded bulb in the stem of the chalice, called a “knop,” and reads the etched inscription on the base that dates from 1875.

A pair of chalices, used for weddings, then comes out of the vault. The knops of these feature open work, and differing diamond settings—a trio of square stones in one, a round solitaire in the other. They both have scenes from the life of Jesus etched with silver in lapis cabochons, mounted on their bases.

I peer into the vault, with its linen lined shelves and rows of labeled vessels. There’s a chalice, Latin etched along the mouth in broad italic script, that sits midway back on a shelf. The shimmer of the highly polished bowl is contrasted to the hammered silver of the base, but the knop is made of ivory, and shows a dozen little robed figures who appear to be in a small round boat. Charles returns the chalices to their shelves, and locks the vault.

The cupboards on the facing wall house patens (bread plates), cruets (pitchers), and ewers (large pitchers): articles that are used in services every day at the cathedral. Large plate, ewers and salavers (large bread plates), for the Sunday Choral Eucharist and more delicate plate for the smaller weekday services.

Amid all of this ornate beauty, Charles is quick to point out the function behind the elaborate form. "You want the chalice to be visible when it's held up. People who are 250 feet away need to see you're holding up a chalice. Thirty years ago, everyone was making plate out of pottery, to represent the simplicity of the early church, and what have you. But, you want to use the best you have. It's important that what is contained and expressed inside the chalice be held in something worthy of the contents. Even though it has jewels or is made of precious metal, it's not an object of adoration or idolatry--it's a container that holds something precious."

Standing in front of these highly polished silver and brass pieces, and seeing the history that is carried within them, gives one a sense of awe. The past of the tradition lives in the present celebration. And at the core of Eucharist is tremendous beauty, reflected in the light of the chalice.

An array of patens, ewers, and cruets

A pair of wedding chalices